Insulated-gate field-effect thin film transistors

ABSTRACT

A new Insulated-Gate Field-Effect Thin Film Transistor (Gated-FET) is disclosed. A semiconductor thin film Gated-FET device, comprising: a lightly doped resistive channel region formed on a semiconductor thin film layer, the thickness of the channel comprising the entire thin film thickness; and an insulator layer deposited on said channel surface with a gate region formed on a gate material deposited on said insulator layer, said gate region receiving a gate voltage comprised of: a first level that modulate said channel resistance to a substantially non-conductive state by fully depleting majority carriers from said thin film layer in the channel region; and a second level that modulate said channel resistance to a substantially conductive state by at least partially accumulating majority carriers near the gate surface of the thin film layer in said channel region.

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 10/62,627 filedon Jan. 23, 2004, which is a division of application Ser. No. 10/413,808filed on Apr. 14, 2003, which claims benefit from ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 60/393,763 filed on Jul. 08, 2002, ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 60/397,070 filed on Jul. 22, 2002, ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 60/400,007 filed on Aug. 01, 2002, ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 60/402,573 filed on Aug. 12, 2002, and ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 60/449,011 filed on Feb. 24, 2003, all of whichlist as inventor Mr. R. U. Madurawe and the contents of which areincorporated-by-reference.

This application is also related to application Ser. No. 10/267,484,Application Ser. No. 10/267,483, and application Ser. No. 10/267,511 nowU.S. Pat. No. 6,747,478, all of which were filed on Oct. 08, 2002 andlist as inventor Mr. R. U. Madurawe, the contents of which areincorporated-by-reference.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to semiconductor IGFET devices.

An Insulated-Gate Field-Effect Transistor, or IGFET, is a device of verymajor importance in the semiconductor IC industry. A Metal-Oxide-SiliconField-Effect Transistor, or MOSFET, is a sub-class of IGFET devices. AnIGFET is a four terminal device comprising of a source, drain, gate andbody nodes; though the body node only allows very limited access to thedevice. MOSFETs are widely used in the sub micron semiconductorprocessing technologies to manufacture Ultra Large Scale IntegratedCircuits. Ability to form Silicon-oxide interfaces with very lowinterface states, quality gate oxides with low thickness, reductions insystem voltage and reductions in lateral geometries by lithographyimprovements have all contributed to the popularity of thesetransistors. Today MOSFETs are used to build ASICs, Memory, FPGA, GateArray, Graphics, Micro Processors, and a wide variety of semiconductorIC products.

IGFET differ from a Bipolar Transistor in the power level and poweramplification available in the device. Bipolar transistor is a threeterminal device with a base, an emitter and a collector node. Comparedto the base control terminal of a Bipolar traitor, the gate controlterminal of IGFET consumes essentially no power. While the Bipolar candeliver more output power, the gain (defined by the ratio of outputcurrent to control current) is infinite for IGFET compared to about 500for a good Bipolar transistor. This high gain coupled with complementaryMOSFET design methodology facilitates low stand-by power in ICs thathave over 10 Million transistors. Bipolar is used to build many Analogand Linear ICs such as voltage regulators, power amplifiers, rectifiers,battery regulators, D to A Converters and A to D Converters due to thehigh output power available. Sub-micron geometry MOSFETs with highcurrent drives are now increasingly used for similar applications.

IGFET differs from a JFET, also a three terminal device, in theconstruction of the transistor. In the IGFET the gate is insulated abovethe transistor body, while in the JFET the gate is formed as a reversebiased junction above the conducting channel. The reverse bias controlgate junction consumes a low level of power due to carrier recombinationinside the depleted region. The JFET power amplification is better thana Bipolar, but lower than an IGFET. A significant difference betweenIGFET and JFET occurs in the method of channel conduction. This will bediscussed in detail next.

The MOSFET operates by conducting current between its drain and sourcethrough a conducting inversion layer created by the presence of a gatevoltage. FIG. 1 shows a cross section of a MOSFET device, and isdescribed herein with reference to an NMOSFET device. In FIG. 1, an NMOStransistor body 100 is P− doped, isolating an N+ doped source region 113and an N+ doped drain region 114. The source is connected to a firstvoltage 103, which may be the ground supply V_(S). The drain isconnected to a second voltage 104, which may be a switching voltage nodefor the device. The body region between source and drain under the gate112 is also doped P type same as substrate. The result is the formationof two N+/P− back-to-back reverse-biased diodes. When the voltage 102 atgate 112 is zero, or below a threshold voltage V_(TN), the N+/P−back-to-back reverse-biased diodes do not conduct and the transistor isoff. The surface under gate 112 consists of hole carriers. In theembodiment of FIG. 1, the gate 112 includes a salicided region shownshaded, and the source and drain salicidation is not shown. When thegate voltage is greater than a threshold voltage (V_(TN)), an inversion110 occurs under gate 112. This inversion layer, called a conductingchannel, completes an electron carrier path between the source 103 anddrain 104 regions. For the MOSFET in FIG. 1, the terminology inversionlayer and conducting channel is used interchangeably, and is shown by110. This conducting channel facilitates current flow between source 113and drain 114 regions. Hole carrier depletion occurs adjacent to thebody region 100 under the inversion layer 110 and adjacent to source 113and drain 114 regions. This is shown shaded in FIG. 1. This charge isdue to the reversed bias electric fields from the gate, source and drainvoltages. The component of this depleted charge from the gate voltagedetermines the magnitude of the V_(TN). Trapped oxide charge and Silicondefects affect the V_(TN) transistor parameter. The more positive thevoltage is at the gate, the stronger is the inversion layer charge andhence the channel conduction. At all levels, the substrate 100 potentialis kept at the lowest voltage level. In most applications, the substrateand source are held at V_(S). For special applications, the NMOS bodycan be pumped to a negative voltage.

A PMOS device is analogous to an NMOS device, with the deviceoperational polarity and doping types reversed. A PMOS is on when thegate is in the voltage range from system ground V_(S) to a thresholddifference (V_(D)−V_(TP)), and off when the gate is in the voltage range(V_(D)−V_(TP)) to system power voltage V_(D). Channel conduction isbetween P+ doped source and P+ doped drain, via a surface inversion P−layer. The body region originally doped N− gets depleted by the gatepotential. The body region for a PMOS is termed Nwell and is constructedon a P type substrate wafer as an isolated island. The Nwell is biasedto the highest PMOS device potential, and in most applications thesource and Nwell are held at V_(D). For special applications, the PMOSbody can be pumped to a voltage higher than the power supply voltage.

In a MOSFET device, there is a body region 100 under the gate. In fact,a conducting channel is not formed until the surface is in inversionwith a build up of minority carriers The gate depletes the body regionnear the surface to create this inversion layer at the surface. Thedepletion width reaches a maximum depth at the onset of inversion, andstays constant at higher gate biases. As the body extends well into thebottom surface of the substrate, the gate modulation has little impacton the resistance of the body region between the source and drainregions. A special case of a MOSFET is a depletion device. In the NMOSdepletion device, an N− implanted channel is formed under the gate onthe device body surface between N+ source and N+ drain regions. Thisdepletion device has a negative threshold voltage, and a negative gatevoltage is needed to turn the device off. The channel is modulated bytwo terminals: the gate above the oxide, and the body below the channel.The body below has a significant impact on the channel resistance, andin some depletion devices a negative body bias is needed to turn thedepletion device off completely.

As discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,537,078, conventional JFET transistorsare of two main types: P-channel (PJFET) and N-channel (NJFET). FIG. 2shows a cross section of a JFET device. The description that follows isfor an NJFET device. In FIG. 2, a semiconductor channel 206 which hasbeen doped N− is positioned between two N+ diffusions 213 and 214. Thesediffusion nodes are connected to two terminals 203 and 204 respectively.The terminal supplying the majority carrier to the channel (which is thelowest potential) is designated the source (S) while the other terminalis designated the drain (D). Across the N− channel 206 there are twogates which are referred to as the top gate 212 and the bottom gate 222.Top gate is connected to terminal 202, and the bottom gate is connectedto terminal 232. In some embodiments, the two gate terminals 202 and 232may be common. Each gate is doped with P+ type dopant to create two backto back P+/N− diodes perpendicular to the channel. When drain and sourcevoltages are different, the drain to source current passes entirelythrough the conducting N− channel 206. This current increases withhigher voltage drop between the terminals, reaching a saturation valueat high biases. At saturation, the depletion regions meet at a pinch-offpoint 230 near the drain edge as shown in FIG. 2. The gates are biasedto keep the gate to channel P+/N− junctions reversed biased. Thereversed biased voltage creates depletion regions 210 and 220 thatpenetrate into the channel reducing the channel height available forcurrent flow. The gate voltages also control the flow of current betweenthe source and drain by modulating the channel height. When the gatereverse bias is sufficiently large, the entire channel is pinched-offcausing no current flow between drain and source. In on and off states,there is no current flow through the gate terminal of a JFET due toreverse bias junction voltages, except for junction leakage current. Forthe device in FIG. 2 a negative gate voltage (lower than V_(S)) createsthe channel off condition. Such a negative gate voltage increases theoperating voltage of this process, a draw back for JFET scheme.

A PJFET device is analogous to an NJFET device, with the deviceoperational polarity and doping types reversed. A PJFET is on when thegate is at V_(D), and off when the gate is more positive than V_(D)further increasing the voltage level of the process. Channel conductionis between P+ doped source and drain regions via a P− doped channelsandwiched between two N+ doped gate regions. For source and drainterminals at voltages in the range from V_(S) to V_(D), operating rangeof NJFET gate is less than V_(S) to V_(S), while the operating range forPJFET gate is V_(D) to more than V_(D).

Compared to the non-conducting body 100 of MOSFET on FIG. 1, the JFEThas a conducting channel 206 between source and drain. Due tonon-overlapping gate voltages and the high voltage range thus needed, acomplementary JFET process is impractical to realize. Hence there is nolow cost process that provides CJFET devices analogous to CMOS devices.Compared to the MOSFET in FIG. 1, a JFET conducting channel is formedinside the body of the switching device. This channel current is notaffected by trapped oxide charges near the gate, a draw back withMOSFETs. Compared to MOSFETs, JFETs also have poorer switchingcharacteristics due to higher depleted charge stored in the channel andthe transient times required to store and remove this depletion charge.Reverse biased junctions hurt JFET device ease of use and popularity inmodern day ICs.

A special MOSFET device constructed in Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) isshown in FIG. 3. This three terminal device is constructed as either anNMOSFET or a PMOSFET. The difference in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 is in thethickness of the body region 306 of the device, and in its bodyisolation. In the SOI device, the regions 313, 306 and 314 areconstructed on a thin film semiconductor material. The substrate 300 isisolated from the device region by insulator 307, hence there is nofourth terminal to this device. This isolation helps with lower junctioncapacitance and no body effect for SOI MOSFET. Source 313, drain 314,gate 312, spacer 320, and salicided regions 322 and 325 are all similarto the standard MOSFET in FIG. 1. Two conditions differ in SOI MOSFETwhen the device in on. In PD SOI, the body 306 is only partiallydepleted (PD) when the body is thicker than a maximum depletion widthThen a neutral floating body exists inside region 306 causingdeleterious effects on device performance. For thinner FD SOI devicesthe body is fully depleted (FD) and a neutral body region does notoccur. These tend to show short channel effects from the drain andsource reverse biased depletions into body region.

Analogous to standard MOSFET, SOI MOSFET also has a non-conducting bodyunder the gate 312. The channel 310 is only formed by inverting thesurface. The body 306 is fully isolated with no access points. The gatemodulation of the body has no influence to access ports. Unlike thebody, the conducting channel can be accessed via source and drain nodes.There is no analogous device to depletion MOSFET in SOI. This is due tothe floating body in an SOI and the inability to control body voltage.Depletion device behavior strongly depends on the body voltage control.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, a semiconductor Gated-FET device comprises of a lightlydoped resistive channel region formed on a first semiconductor thin filmlayer; and an insulator layer deposited on said channel surface with agate region formed on a gate material deposited on said insulator layer;said gate region receiving a gate voltage having a first levelmodulating said channel resistance to a substantially non-conductivestate and a second level modulating said channel resistance to asubstantially conductive state.

In a second aspect said channel region is formed between a source regionand a drain region in the said first semiconductor thin film; and saidsource region coupled to a source voltage; and said drain region coupledto a drain voltage; and said source and drain regions having a higherlevel of the same dopant type as said channel region.

In a third aspect, the Gated-FET device further comprises of an offstate with said gate voltage below a first threshold voltage level, andsaid thin film channel substantially not conducting a current betweensaid drain and source regions for a differential bias voltage rangingfrom zero to a system power supply voltage; and an on state with saidgate voltage above a first threshold voltage level, and said thin filmchannel substantially conducting a current between said drain and sourceregions for a differential bias voltage ranging from zero to a systempower supply voltage.

The Gated-FET device is a subset of IGFET devices where the gate isinsulated from the channel. This terminology is used to distinguish thenew device from MOSFET and JFET devices. A Gated-FET device is a hybriddevice between an SOI MOSFET device and a conventional JFET device. TheGated-FET device has a channel region like that of the JFET device:entirely comprising of a thin film resistive channel between its sourceand drain regions. There is no inversion layer like in an SOI MOSFET toconduct current with no floating body. The gate node of the Gated-FETdevice is like that of a MOSFET device: the gate constructed above adielectric material insulating gate from the channel. There is noreverse biased gate junction like in a JFET. The gate voltage thusmodulates the channel through the oxide similar to the gate modulationof the SOI MOSFET body region. Unlike in the SOI MOSFET, this modulationoccurs in the channel region, which connects the source and drainregions.

Advantages of the invention may include one or more of the following. AGated-FET device is used with no increase in voltage range compared toJFET. A Gated-FET device has a threshold voltage not degraded by fixedcharge and surface states. A Gated-FET has a channel conductance notdegraded by lower surface mobility. A Gated-FET channel current isbetter controlled with thin film physical properties such as thickness,doping and work function. A Gated-FET has lower charge storage in thechannel and faster switching speeds. A Gated-FET has only one gate. AGated-FET has very low junction capacitance and no body effect. AGated-FET has no isolated body and no charge trapping effects. AGated-FET is constructed in a second semiconductor plane, different froma first plane used for logic transistor construction. A Gated-NFET and aGated-PFET is built on the same process. Gated-FETs are used to build 3Ddense integrated circuits. Complementary Gated-FET devices arefabricated in conjunction with regular CMOS devices in a single process.A Gated-NFET and Gated-PFET share a common drain node on a singlegeometry. The CGated-FETs share a common gate voltage. A switchingdevice is built as a CGated-FET inverter. The CGated-FET inverter hasidentical gate voltage range as power supply voltage. A latch isconstructed with two CGated-FET inverters connected back to back.

An off-state Gated-FET thin film transistor body is filly depleted. Thedepleted channel resistance is non-conductive with no current flowbetween source and drain. An on-state Gated-FET has a surfaceaccumulation. The accumulation enhances the channel conduction beyondthe original dopant level. The enhanced Gated-FET channel conduction is2 to 100 times more than the intrinsic channel conductance. Thin filmGated-FET has superior device on and off characteristics.

The method of fabricating the Gated-FET may have one or more offollowing advantages. A Gated-FET is constructed with Ill-Vsemiconductor material. A Gated-FET is constructed with poly-crystallinesemiconductor thin film transistors. A Gated-FET is constructed withamorphous poly-Silicon semiconductor thin film transistors. A Gated-FETis constructed with laser re-crystallized poly-Silicon semiconductorthin film transistors. A Gated-FET is constructed on SOI material, orthinned down region of SOI material. A thinned down crystalline SOIGated-FET has very high performance. The Gated-FET is fabricated inpoly-crystalline Silicon layers with good on and off devicecharacteristics. A circuit may be constructed with a conventional MOSFETdevice, and a new Gated-FET vertically integrated. A TFT module layermay be inserted to a logic process module. The TFT module layer may beinserted to SOI process module. The module insertion may be at a firstcontact layer. The module insertion may be at a later via layer.

Implementation of the new device may have one or more followingadvantages. Gated-FETs are used to build circuits and latches.Inexpensive latches are built with 3D integrated Gated-FET devices.Latches are vertically integrated to a logic process for FPGAapplications. A split latch is constructed with regular MOSFET in afirst layer, and vertically integrated Gated-FET in a second layerconnected back to back. A split latch is used to construct high densitySRAM memory. A split SRAM memory is used for high memory content FPGAapplications. A split SRAM is used for high density stand alone memory.The split level latch cells have very high performance similar to fullCMOS latches. The split level latches have very low power consumptionsimilar to full CMOS SRAM memory. New latches can be used for very fastaccess embedded memory applications. Thinned down split latch SOI memoryallows very high memory densities. The complete TFT latch can be stackedabove logic transistors, further reducing Silicon area and cost Full TFTlatches have longer access times, but useful for slow memoryapplications. Slow TFT latches can be used in PLDs (Programmable LogicDevices) and subsequently mapped to ASICs (Application SpecificIntegrated Circuit). The PLDs are used for prototyping and low volumeproduction, while the ASICs are used for high volume production.Programmable TFT latches are used in PLD's. Programmable elements arereplaced with hard wires in ASICs.

The invention thus provides an attractive solution for two separateindustries: (i) very high density stand alone or embedded low power,fast access SRAM memory and (ii) high-density, low-cost SRAM for PLD andFPGA with convertibility to ASIC. It also provides an alternative set ofcomplementary devices to a traditional SOI MOSFET process for very highdensity integrated circuit fabrication.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a conventional MOSFET device conduction channel.

FIG. 2 shows a conventional JFET device conduction channel.

FIG. 3 shows a conventional SOI MOSFET device.

FIG. 4 shows a Gated-FET device.

FIGS. 5A and 5B shows a cross sectional view and top view of aGated-NFET device.

FIGS. 6A and 6B shows a band diagram for off state Gated-NFET device.

FIGS. 7A and 7B shows a band diagrams for a first on state Gated-NFETdevice.

FIGS. 8A and 8B shows a band diagrams for a second on state Gated-NFETdevice.

FIGS. 9A and 9B shows a cross sectional view and top view of aGated-PFET device.

FIGS. 10A and 10B shows a band diagram for off state Gated-PFET device.

FIGS. 11A and 11B shows a band diagrams for a first on state Gated-PFETdevice.

FIGS. 12A and 12B shows a band diagrams for a second on state Gated-PFETdevice.

FIGS. 13A and 13B shows a top view and cross sectional view of afabricated Gated-FET device.

FIG. 14.1-FIG. 14.8 show constructional cross sections of processingsteps showing fabrication of complementary Gated-FET devices.

DESCRIPTION

The terms wafer and substrate used in the following description includeany structure having an exposed surface with which to form the Gated-FETstructure of the invention. The term substrate is understood to includesemiconductor wafers. The term substrate is also used to refer tosemiconductor structures during processing, and may include other layersthat have been fabricated thereupon. The term layer is used forprocessing steps used in the manufacturing process. The term layer alsoincludes each of the masking layers of the process. Both wafer andsubstrate include doped and undoped semiconductors, epitaxialsemiconductor layers supported by a base semiconductor or insulator, SOImaterial as well as other semiconductor structures well known to oneskilled in the art. The term conductor is understood to includesemiconductors, and the term insulator is defined to include anymaterial that is less electrically conductive than the materialsreferred to as conductors. The term geometry is used to define anisolated pattern of a masking layer. One mask layer is a collection ofgeometries in the mask pattern. The term module includes a structurethat is fabricated using a series of predetermined process steps. Theboundary of the structure is defined by a first step, one or moreintermediate steps, and a final step. The term channel is used toidentify a region that connects two other regions. The term bodyidentifies a region common to a plurality of devices. The term body isalso used to identify a substrate or a well region. The term body isalso used to identify a region other than a conducting region. Thefollowing detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in alimiting sense.

One embodiment of the Gated-FET is shown in FIG. 4. This device differsfrom the MOSFET shown in FIG. 1 in three aspects: absence of aninversion layer at the surface, absence of a body region and thethinness of the channel region. This device differs from the JFET deviceshown in FIG. 2 in three aspects: absence of diffused gate junction,absence of dual gates, and presence of an insulated gate. This devicediffers from the SOI MOSFET shown in FIG. 3 in at least two aspects:absence of an inversion layer at the surface, absence of a floating bodyregion.

Gated-FET in FIG. 4 is comprised of a lightly doped resistive channelregion 406 formed on a first semiconductor thin film layer 480; and aninsulator layer 405 deposited on said channel 406 surface; and a gateregion 412 formed on a gate material deposited on said insulator layer405; and said gate region 412 coupled to a gate voltage 402; and saidgate voltage 402 at a first level modulating said channel 406 resistanceto a substantially non-conductive state; and said gate voltage at asecond level modulating said channel 406 resistance to a substantiallyconductive state.

Gated-FET in FIG. 4 further comprises of said channel region 406 formedbetween a source region 413 and a drain region 414 in the said firstsemiconductor thin film 480; and said source region coupled to a sourcevoltage 403; and said drain region coupled to a drain voltage 404; andsaid source and drain regions 413 and 414 having a higher level of thesame dopant type as said channel region 406.

In the shown embodiment in FIG. 4, the Gated-FET device is constructedon an isolation layer 407 that is deposited on a substrate layer 400. Ina preferred embodiment the isolation layer 407 is an insulator. Inanother embodiment, isolation layer 407 is a semiconductor material, abody region with opposite type dopant to reverse bias and isolateregions 413, 406 and 414. The substrate 400 can be doped P type or Ntype, and contain N-well, P-well and any other diffused region. Inanother embodiment, the substrate 400 also contains other transistorsconstructed upon the substrate surface and isolated by the region 407.In FIG. 4 the gate 412, drain 414 and source 413 regions are shownsalicided. These salicided regions for the gate and drain are shown as422 and 425. In another embodiment these are not salicided. A verticalside wall of the gate 412 is covered by a spacer 420, and the salicidedregion 425 is separated from the gate edge by the width of that spacer.The spacer 425 is self aligned to gate 412. Salicided region 425 is selfaligned to spacer 420. The device in FIG. 4 can be either a Gated-NFETor a Gated-PFET depending on the dopant types chosen in the region 480.Regions 413, 406 and 414 have substantially the same type of dopant.Channel 406 is doped lighter than the source and drain regions 413 and414. A gate material is chosen to satisfy a work function requirementfor proper functionality of the device. Insulator 405 thickness andsemiconductor 480 thickness and dopant level are optimized for deviceperformance. Device design criteria will be discussed in detail nextFIG. 5 shows a Gated-PFET device. Top view in FIG. 5B shows a firstsemiconductor geometry 5080 orthogonal to a gate geometry 5022. Thesetwo layers are separated by an insulator deposited in between. The gategeometry 5022 is surrounded by a spacer ring 5020. A source voltage 5003is connected via a contact to source region 5013 formed on semiconductorgeometry 5080. A drain voltage 5004 is connected via a contact to drainregion 5014 formed on semiconductor geometry 5080. Geometry 5080 issubdivided by implant type into different regions. The separation occursby overlapping nature of gate geometry 5022 and spacer ring 5020 abovegeometry 5080. The middle region under gate geometry 5022 is defined asthe channel region. The two regions under the spacer ring 5020 aredefined as the lightly doped drain (LDP) regions. These regions arebetter seen in the cross sectional view in FIG. 5A as channel region 506and LDP regions 584 and 586. In this embodiment, the source and drainregions 513 and 514 are shown completely salicided with no P+ implantedsemiconductor regions. The source and drains are entirely determined bythe LDP regions 584 and 586. FIG. 5A also shows a poly-Silicon gatematerial 512 partially salicided. Source 513, drain 514 and gate 512salicidations occur simultaneously and a thicker poly-Silicon film forgate 512 ensures partial consumption. Terminals 502, 503 and 504 arecoupled to the regions 512, 513 and 514 respectively completing a threeterminal device. There is no fourth terminal in this device as thechannel 506 is electrically coupled between source 513 and drain 514.There is no body region for this device. The channel 506 height is sameas the deposited semiconductor film 5080 thickness.

The operation of Gated-PFET is described next. The device has an onthreshold voltage V_(TP). Gated-PFET source 503 is connected to thehigher voltage compared to drain 504. Device on-off is determined bygate 502 over voltage with respect to source 503. For this discussion,power supply voltage V_(D) is taken as the higher voltage. The othervoltage is taken as a ground supply voltage V_(S). Furthermore, thesource terminal 503 is assumed connected to the system power voltageV_(D). When the gate voltage 502 is between V_(D) and (V_(D)−V_(TP)),the device is off with no significant current flow between drain andsource. When the gate voltage 502 is between (V_(D)−V_(TP)) and V_(S)the device is on. The drain to source current flow depends on thevoltage difference between the two terminals V_(DS).

FIG. 6A shows an energy band diagrams for a Gated-PFET comprised of anN+ poly Silicon gate material 512, oxide insulator 505, and P− dopedchannel 506 in FIG. 5A when the gate and channel are both biased tolevel 600. Reference level 600 is at V_(D) volts. This bias conditionoccurs near the source edge of an off Gated-PFET device with gate andsource at V_(D) voltage. Levels 601, 602 and 603 represent theconduction band, mid gap band and the valence band energy levels for N+doped poly Silicon. For Si semiconductor, the band gap is about 1.12 eVat 300 Kelvin temperature as shown by the difference between levels 601and 603. For N+ dopant, the Fermi level is at the conduction band level601. Energy levels 631, 632 and 634 represent the conduction band, midgap band and the valence band energy levels for P− channel Silicon.Again the band gap is 1.12 eV for Silicon at 300 Kelvin, shown by theenergy difference between 631 and 634. The Fermi level for P− Silicon isshown by level 633. The P− Silicon has a higher vacuum level electronenergy compared to N+ poly Silicon. In the diagram, no oxide charge isassumed, and the difference in energy level is the work functiondifference between the two materials. In the diagram work functiondifference is assumed to equal flat band voltage. Presence of fixedoxide charge reduces the flat band voltage. There is a net electrontransfer from Silicon side to the Gate side causing band bending asshown in FIG. 6A. This creates voltage drop across the oxide and Siliconaccording to the laws of Semiconductor Physics. The total voltage dropequals the flat band voltage V_(FB). The voltage drop in the oxide isshown by the difference 651 with a uniform electric field in the absenceof fixed charge inside the oxide. The voltage drop inside Siliconcreates a band bending region 640 with a depth 641 into Silicon from theoxide interface. This region is depleted of majority carrier holes.There is no supply of minority carriers (an N type diffusion region) tocause a surface inversion layer and pin the band bending at the surfaceas shown by region 110 in FIG. 1 for a MOSFET device. In FIG. 6A, athickness 642 is shown to be significantly depleted of carriers. Thatregion has no conducting majority carrier holes. Choosing an appropriateSilicon channel height 642 allows building a Gated-PFET channel thatdoes not conduct when a V_(D) voltage is applied on the gate.

FIG. 6B is a Gated-PFET energy band diagram when the gate is at V_(D)and the channel at zero or V_(S) volts. This condition can occur at thedrain edge of an off Gated-PFET when the drain has to support V_(S). InFIG. 6B, the Silicon Fermi level 6033 is at V_(S) while the gate Fermilevel 6001 is at V_(D). The two Fermi levels 6033 and 6001 are separatedby the bias voltage 6061 which has a value V_(D). The depletion region6040 is deeper than 640, extending to a depth 6041 into the Silicon. Athin layer channel that is fully depleted in FIG. 6A remains fillydepleted in FIG. 6B. Such a channel has no conduction between a sourceand a drain that are biased to V_(D) and V_(S) voltages respectively.Regardless of drain voltage, the Gated-PFET is off when the gate is atV_(D). This can be seen by the increased band bending shown in FIG. 6B.

As the gate voltage decrease from V_(D) to a value (V_(D)−V_(TP)), thevoltage drop across the oxide decreases, and the Silicon depletion width641 also decreases. V_(TP) is chosen such that there is a clear noisemargin on the threshold level of the Gated-PFET against power and groundvoltage variations. At that threshold, the depletion width 641 falls towithin the film thickness 642 shown in FIG. 6A at the source edge. Thatcreates an onset of conduction current between the source and drain,even if the drain edge is still fully depleted and pinched off. Thedrain edge pinch off contributes to creating a saturation current.

At a gate voltage higher than the threshold the bands attain a flat bandlevel as shown in FIG. 7A. This flat band voltage is defined V_(FB) andis shown by voltage level 761. In FIG. 7A the gate is biased to V_(FB)while the channel is held at V_(D). Hence, Fermi level 733 in theSilicon is at V_(D), while the Fermi level of N+ poly is at V_(FB). Thevoltage drop across the oxide 751 is zero, and the band bending in theSilicon is also zero. When there is no fixed oxide charge in the oxide,V_(FB) equals the work-function difference between gate and Silicon.There is no meaning to a depletion region under this bias condition, andthe entire Silicon film thickness 742 has majority carriers at thedoping level of the Silicon. This is seen by the flat Fermi level 733 inFIG. 7A. FIG. 7B shows the gate at V_(FB) and the channel at drain edgebiased to V_(S). Silicon Fermi level 7033 is at zero (V_(S)) volts,while Gate Fermi level 7001 is at V_(FB). Voltage level 7061 shows theapplied channel voltage V_(S) against reference level 700 at V_(D). Theover voltage between V_(FB) and V_(S) is now dropped across the oxideand the Silicon creating a depletion region 7040 in Silicon. Suchdepletion causes a current saturation in the conducting channel. Henceat a bias V_(G)=V_(FB), the Gated-PFET conducts with a currentsaturation occuring at a voltage when the channel depth is pinched-offnear the drain edge.

A Gated-PFET with a gate biased at ground (V_(S)) is shown in FIGS. 8Aand 8B. In FIG. 8A the channel near source edge is at voltage V_(D).Gate Fermi level 801 is at V_(S), while the channel Fermi level 833 isat V_(D). The over voltage between V_(FB) and V_(D) is now droppedacross the oxide and the Silicon creating an accumulation region 840near the channel surface. The majority carrier concentration is now farhigher than the original doping level of the Silicon layer. Thisprovides enhanced channel conduction beyond the doping level chosen forthe film. The channel film thickness 842 is chosen thicker than theaccumulation width to facilitate a strong on current for the Gated-PFET.FIG. 8B shows the gate and channel both at V_(S). Both Fermi levels 8001and 8033 are at V_(S), above reference level 800 by a value V_(D). Theband diagram is identical to FIG. 6A when both sides were biased atV_(D). Again the drain edge of the channel is pinched-off demonstratingthe existence of current saturation in the device.

The diagrams shown in FIG. 6, 7 and 8 have consistent labels. Alldiagrams consistently show the existence of a thin film channel regionthat will allow construction of a Gated-PJFET device by ensuring an onstate and an off state. The channel is fully depleted of majoritycarriers in the off state. The gate and the semiconductor materialproperties need to be chosen to ensure this condition. The flat bandvoltage for the system needs to be large enough to fully deplete thechosen channel thickness when the device is off. In the embodimentchosen an N+ doped poly Silicon gate material, an oxide dielectric and aP− doped Silicon channel meets that condition. A thinner dielectricthickness and a lower dielectric constant material for the gateinsulator allow a lower voltage loss across the dielectric and a largerchannel modulation in the Silicon.

Next we will discuss a Gated-NFET device as shown in FIG. 9. Top view inFIG. 9B shows a first semiconductor geometry 9080 orthogonal to a gategeometry 9022. These two layers are separated by an insulator depositedin between. The gate geometry 9022 is surrounded by a spacer ring 9020.A source voltage 9003 is connected via a contact to source region 9013formed on semiconductor geometry 9080. A drain voltage 9004 is connectedvia a contact to drain region 9014 formed on semiconductor geometry9080. Geometry 9080 is subdivided by implant type into differentregions. The separation occurs by overlapping nature of gate geometry9022 and spacer ring 9020 above geometry 9080. The middle region undergate geometry 9022 is defined as the channel region. The two regionsunder the spacer ring 9020 are defined as the lightly doped drain (LDN)regions. These regions are better seen in the cross sectional view inFIG. 9A as channel region 906 and LDN regions 984 and 986. In thisembodiment, the source and drain regions 913 and 914 are showncompletely salicided with no N+ implanted semiconductor regions. Thesource and drains are entirely determined by the LDN regions. FIG. 9Aalso shows a poly-Silicon gate material 912 partially salicided. Source913, drain 914 and gate 912 salicidations occur simultaneously and athicker poly-Silicon film for gate 912 ensures partial consumption.Terminals 902, 903 and 904 are coupled to the regions 912, 913 and 914respectively completing a three terminal device. There is no fourthterminal in this device as the channel 906 is electrically coupledbetween source 913 and drain 914. There is no body region for thisdevice. The channel 906 height is same as the deposited semiconductorfilm 9080 thickness.

The operation of Gated-NFET is described next. The device has an onthreshold voltage V_(TN). Gated-NFET source 903 is connected to thelower voltage compared to drain 904. Device on-off is determined by gate902 over voltage with respect to source 903. For this discussion, groundsupply voltage V_(S) is taken as the lower voltage. The other voltage istaken as a power supply voltage V_(D). Furthermore, the source terminal903 is assumed connected to the system ground voltage V_(S). When thegate voltage 902 is between V_(S) and V_(TN), the device is off with nosignificant current flow between drain and source. When the gate voltage902 is between V_(TN) and V_(D) the device is on. The drain to sourcecurrent flow depends on the voltage difference between the two terminalsV_(DS).

FIG. 10A shows an energy band diagrams for a Gated-NFET comprised of aP+ poly Silicon gate material 1010, oxide insulator 1020, and N− dopedchannel 1030 when the gate and channel are biased at V_(S) volts atlevel 1000. This bias condition occurs near the source edge of an offdevice with gate and source at V_(S) voltage. Levels 1001, 1002 and 1003represent the conduction band, mid gap band and the valence band energylevels for P+ poly Silicon. For Si semiconductor, the band gap is about1.12 eV at 300 Kelvin temperature as shown by the difference betweenlevels 1001 and 1003. For P+ dopant, the Fermi level is at the valenceband level 1003. Energy levels 1031, 1033 and 1034 represent theconduction band, mid gap band and the valence band energy levels for P−channel Silicon. Again the band gap is 1.12 eV for Silicon at 300Kelvin, shown by the energy difference between 1031 and 1034. The Fermilevel for N− Silicon is shown by level 1032. The N− Silicon has a lowervacuum level electron energy compared to P+ poly Silicon. In thediagram, no oxide charge is assumed, and the difference in energy levelis the work function difference between the two materials. There is anet electron transfer from Gate side to the Silicon side causing bandbending as shown in FIG. 10A. This creates voltage drop across the oxideand Silicon according to the laws of Semiconductor Physics. The voltagedrop in the oxide is shown by the difference 1051 with a uniformelectric field in the absence of fixed charge inside the oxide. Thevoltage drop inside Silicon creates a band bending region 1040 with adepth 1041 into Silicon from the oxide interface. This region isdepleted of majority carrier electrons. There is no supply of minoritycarriers (a P type diffusion region) to cause a surface inversion layerand pin the band bending at the surface as shown by region 110 in FIG. 1for a MOSFET device. In FIG. 10A, a thickness 1042 is shown to besignificantly depleted of carriers near the surface. That region has noconducting majority carrier electrons. Choosing an appropriate Siliconchannel height 1042 allows constructing a Gated-NFET channel that doesnot conduct when a V_(S) voltage is applied on the gate.

FIG. 10B is a Gated-NFET energy band diagram when the gate is at V_(S)and the channel at V_(D) volts. This can occur at the drain edge of anoff Gated-NFET when the drain has to support a voltage V_(D). In FIG.10B, the Silicon Fermi level 10032 is at V_(D) while the gate Fermilevel 10003 is at V_(S). The two Fermi levels 10032 and 10003 areseparated by the bias voltage 10061 which has a value V_(D). Thedepletion region 10040 is deeper than 1040, extending to a depth 10041into the Silicon. A thin layer channel that is filly depleted in FIG.10A remains fully depleted in FIG. 10B. Such a channel has no conductionbetween a source and a drain that are biased to V_(S) and V_(D) voltagesrespectively. Regardless of drain voltage, the Gated-NFET is off whenthe gate is at V_(S). This can be seen by the enhanced band bendingshown in FIG. 10B.

As the gate voltage increase from V_(S) to a value V_(TN), the voltagedrop across the oxide decreases, and the Silicon depletion width alsodecreases. V_(TN) is chosen such that there is a clear noise margin onthe threshold level of the Gated-NFET against power and ground voltagevariations. At that threshold, the depletion width 1041 falls to withinthe film thickness 1042 shown in FIG. 10A at the source edge. Thatcreates an onset of conduction current between the source and drain,even if the drain edge is still fully depleted and pinched off. Thedrain edge pinch off contributes to creating a saturation current.

At a gate voltage higher than the threshold the bands attain a flat bandlevel as shown in FIG. 11A. This flat band voltage is defined V_(FB) andis shown by voltage level 1161. Fixed oxide charge affect V_(FB). InFIG. 11A the gate is biased to V_(FB) while the channel is held atV_(S). Hence, Fermi level 1132 in the Silicon is at V_(S), while theFermi level of P+ poly 1103 is at V_(FB). The voltage drop across theoxide 1151 is zero, and the band bending in the Silicon is also zero.When there is no fixed oxide charge in the oxide, V_(FB) equals thework-function difference between gate and Silicon. There is no meaningto a depletion region under this bias condition, and the entire Siliconfilm thickness 1142 has majority carriers at the doping level of theSilicon. This is seen by the flat Fermi level 1132 in FIG. 11A. FIG. 11Bshows the gate at V_(FB) and the channel at drain edge biased to V_(D).Silicon Fermi level 11032 is at V_(D) volts, while Gate Fermi level11003 is at V_(FB). Voltage level 11061 shows the applied channelvoltage V_(D) against reference level 1100 at V_(S). The over voltagebetween V_(FB) and V_(D) is now dropped across the oxide and the Siliconcreating a depletion region 11040 in Silicon. Such depletion causes acurrent saturation in the conducting channel. Hence at a biasV_(G)=V_(FB), the Gated-NFET conducts with a current saturationoccurring at a voltage when the channel depth is pinched-off near thedrain edge.

A Gated-NFET with a gate biased at power supply V_(D) is shown in FIG.12A and 12B. In FIG. 12A the channel is at source edge with a voltageV_(S). Gate Fermi level 1203 is at V_(D), while the channel Fermi level1232 is at V_(S). The over voltage between V_(FB) and V_(D) is nowdropped across the oxide and the Silicon creating an accumulation region1240 near the channel surface. The majority carrier concentration is nowfar higher than the original doping level of the Silicon layer. Thisprovides enhanced channel conduction beyond the doping level chosen forthe film. The channel film thickness 1242 is chosen thicker than theaccumulation width to facilitate a strong on current for the Gated-NFET.FIG. 12B shows the gate and channel both at V_(D). Both Fermi levels12003 and 12032 are at V_(D), above reference level 1200 by a valueV_(D). The band diagram is identical to FIG. 10A when both sides werebiased at V_(S). Again the drain edge of the channel is pinched-offdemonstrating the existence of current saturation in the device.

The diagrams shown in FIGS. 10, 11 and 12 have consistent labels. Alldiagrams consistently show the existence of a thin film channel regionthat will allow construction of a Gated-NJFET device by ensuring an onstate and an off state. The channel is fully depleted of majoritycarriers in the off state. The gate and the semiconductor materialproperties need to be chosen to ensure this condition. The flat bandvoltage for the system needs to be large enough to fully deplete thechosen channel thickness when the device is off. In the embodimentchosen a P+ doped poly Silicon gate material, an oxide dielectric and anN− doped Silicon channel meets that condition. A thinner dielectricthickness and a lower dielectric constant material for the gateinsulator allow a lower voltage loss across the dielectric and a largerchannel modulation in the Silicon.

The lightly doped resistive channel region formed on a firstsemiconductor thin film geometry 480 forming the conducting pathsbetween source 413 and drain 414 in FIG. 4 can be a thinned down SOIsingle crystal Silicon film, or a deposited thin Poly-crystaline Siliconfilm, or a post laser annealed as deposited amorphous Poly-crystallineSilicon film. The thickness and doping of the channel region 406 areoptimized with the insulator 405 thickness T_(G) and gate material workfunction to get the required threshold voltage Vt, on-current andoff-current for these devices. The channel 406 thickness T_(S)optimization to contain the fully depleted channel as discussed earlieris discussed in detail next Two thickness parameters X and Y for asemiconductor material are defined by:X=ε _(S) *T _(G) /F _(G) Angstroms   (EQ 1)Y=[(2*ε_(S) *V _(FB))/(q*D)]^(0.5) Angstroms   (EQ 2)X _(D)=(X ² +Y ²)^(0.5) −X Angstroms   (EQ 3)T_(S)<X_(D) Angstroms   (EQ 4)where, ε_(S) is channel semiconductor permittivity, ε_(G) is gateinsulator permittivity, T_(G) is gate insulator thickness, V_(FB) isgate to semiconductor absolute flat band voltage, q is electron charge,D is channel doping level, X_(D) is the depletion depth and T_(S) ischannel semiconductor layer thickness. EQ-3 denotes the maximumdepletion width for the off Gated-FET shown as depth 641 in FIG. 6A anddepth 1041 in FIG. 10A. The inequality in EQ-4 ensures film thicknesses642 and 1042 shown FIGS. 6A and 10A respectively are within the maximumdepletion depths 641 and 1041 into Silicon channel. Preferably T_(S) ischosen to be in the range 0.2*X_(D) to 0.9*X_(D), and more preferablyT_(S) is chosen to be in the range 0.4*X_(D) to 0.8*X_(D) range.

For most practical doping levels and oxide thicknesses, X is much largerthan Y value. EQ-3 can be simplified to:X _(D) =Y−X+X ²/(2*Y) Angstroms   (EQ 5)

For Poly-Oxide-Silicon Gated-FET devices, when D is 2E17 Atomc/cm³doping density (i.e. 2E-7 Atoms/A³, where A=Angstroms), T_(G)=70 A,ε_(S)/ε_(OX)=3, and assuming no fixed charge in the oxide the followingis easily shown: the flat band voltage V_(FB)=0.987V, X=210 A, and Y=799A. Using EQ-3, X_(D)=616 A. EQ-5 also yields X_(D)=16 A as Y>X criterionis met. Hence a semiconductor layer preferably 120-550 A, morepreferably 250-490 A meets the channel thickness requirement. For thePoly-Oxide-Silicon Gated-FET device, a simplified practical criterioncan be extracted from EQ-5 as:X _(D) ˜{square root}D*(0.36/D+12.5*T _(OX) ²)−3*T _(OX) Angstroms   (EQ6)

Where, D is in Atoms/A³. This expression assumes a V_(FB)=1V. For theexample discussed earlier, EQ-6 yields X_(D)˜622 A, in fairly goodagreement to the correct 616A.

The insulator thickness and channel doping also needs to satisfy thethreshold voltage for the Gated-FET device. This threshold voltage ispreferable selected in the range 0.18*V_(D) to 0.4*V_(D), and morepreferably 0.2*V_(D) to 0.3*V_(D), where V_(D) is the power supplyvoltage. This puts an added constraint on the semiconductor filmthickness 642 and 1042 shown in FIG. 6A and FIG. 10A respectively. Whena voltage V_(T) is applied at the gate, the depletion width 641 (or1041) equals semiconductor thickness 642 (or 1042) for the Gated-FETdevice. At that bias, EQ-2 is modified by the additional bias, to a newthickness defined by:Z=[(2*ε_(S)*(V _(FB) −V _(T)))/(q*D)]^(0.5) Angstroms   (EQ 7)T _(S)=(X ² +Z ²)^(0.5) −X Angstroms   (EQ 8)

EQ-8 shows the relationship between doping level D and semiconductorfilm thickness T_(S) required to satisfy the Gated-FET design. EQ-8satisfies the constraint for maximum semiconductor film thickness inEQ-4 trivially. For the example discussed earlier, for a 1.5V processwith V_(T) at 0.42V, EQ-7 yields Z=606 A, and from EQ-8 T_(S)=431 A wellwithin the desired thickness range 300-500 A. The gate dielectricthickness and dielectric fixed charge density impacts this thresholdvoltage.

Other embodiments may use gate and substrate materials different fromSilicon. Gate dielectrics can be oxide, oxy-nitride, nitride, ormulti-layered insulators. The semiconductor material may be Silicon,Silicon-germanium, gallium-arsenide, germanium, or any other III-Vmaterial. The gate material may be poly-Silicon, aluminum, tungsten, orany other metal. The value of X in equation-1 will change based on thephysical properties of the materials chosen to form the Gated-FETdevice.

The total resistance of the conducting body region for Gated-FET underconducting mode is determined by the applied voltage difference betweendrain and source nodes, and gate over voltage above threshold. A typicaldevice top view and cross section is shown in FIG. 13. In addition, thedevice channel width 1391 (W_(S)), device channel length 1392 (L_(S))and film thickness 1393 (T_(S)) all determine the device on current. Thechannel resistance is given by:R=ρ _(S) *L _(S)/(W _(S) *T _(S)) Ohms   (EQ 9)where, ρ_(S) is the resistivity of as doped channel region 1340. Gatevoltage and channel depletion heavily modulates resistivity psParameters are chosen for R to be preferably in the 1 KOhm to 1 Meg-Ohmrange, more preferably 10 KOhm to 100 KOhms, when the channel is on. Asan example, for P− doping 2E17 atoms/cm³, under flat-band conditions inFIG. 7A, the resistivity for single crystal Silicon is 0.12 Ohm-cm. WhenL_(S)=0.3μ, W_(S)=0.3μ, T_(S)=431 Angstroms, R is 27.8 KOhms. WhenV_(DS)=0.2V (drain to source bias), the channel current I_(ON) is 7 μA.This is the conduction level under flat band bias condition in FIG. 7Afor the Gated-PFET. Poly-Silicon mobility is lower than single crystalSilicon degrading the on current for non single-crystal films. Thesurface accumulations shown in FIG. 8A and FIG. 12A for Gated-PFET andGated-NFET devices enhance the channel I_(ON) current for higher gatebiases. An effective film thickness increase is used to express thechannel resistance as defined by:R=ρ _(S0) *L _(S) /[W _(S)*((1+γ)T _(S))] Ohms   (EQ 10)

Where γ absorbs the channel modulation effects, and ρ_(S0) remains theresistivity at doping level D of the thin film channel region. The γvalue depends on the depth of the accumulation region into thin filmchannel, and the surface potential at the Semiconductor-Insulatorinterface in the band diagrams in FIG. 8A and FIG. 12-A If the absolutesurface potential is Φ_(S) in the semiconductor, a system of equationscan be solved by trial and error to converge on the correct Φ_(S) value.N _(S) =D*exp(qΦ _(S) /kT)   (EQ 11)L _(D)=[ε_(S) *kT/(q ² N _(S))]^(0.5)   (EQ 12)X _(A)={square root}2*L _(D)*[(N _(S) /D)^(0.5)−1]  (EQ 13)Q _(S) =q*N _(S) *X _(A)/(1+X _(A)/({square root}² *L _(D))]  (EQ 14)Φ_(S) =V _(D) −V _(FB) −T _(G) *Q _(S) /ε _(G)   (EQ 15)

Referring to FIG. 8A (or equivalently FIG. 12A), EQ-11 denotes theexcess surface concentration of majority carriers due to the surfacepotential Φ_(S) at the surface. EQ-12 denotes the Debye length at thesurface concentration N_(S). EQ-13 denotes the depth of accumulationlayer penetration into semiconductor region. At this depth, the dopinglevel drops off to the channel doping level D, and no accumulation isfurther observed. EQ-14 denotes the total excess accumulation charge inthe semiconductor thin film due to accumulation. EQ-15 is the voltagebalance where the over voltage above flat-band is distributed acrossgate insulator and semiconductor film. A consistent solution to thesystem of equations 11-15 can be achieved iteratively. To achieve thefull benefit from the enhanced conduction due to accumulation, the filmthickness is further chosen such that:T_(S)>X_(A)   (EQ 16)

Preferably T_(S) is chosen in the range 1*X_(A) to 10*X_(A), and morepreferably T_(S) is chosen in the range 2*X_(A) to 6*X_(A). When EQ-16is met, the effective thickness increase factor γ due to accumulationcan be expressed as:γ={square root}2*(L _(D) /T _(S))*[(N _(S) /D)−(N _(S) /D)^(0.5)]  (EQ17)

This shows that the accumulation effectively acts so as to increase thethin film thickness beyond the chosen T_(S) value at the same dopingdensity D. This enhancement can be quite significant. For the examplechosen earlier, for 1.5V power supply, the over voltage(V_(D)−V_(FB))=0.513V. Start with a guess surface voltage Φ_(S)=0.0927V.Substituting in EQ-11 through EQ-15: N_(S)=7.21E18 Atoms/cm³, L_(D)=15.2A, X_(A)=108 A, Q_(S)=2.07E-7 C. Substituting into EQ-15 the surfacevoltage is recalculated as Φ_(S)=0.0926V same as the starting point.Thickness enhancement factor is calculated from EQ-17 as γ=1.50. This γis very sensitive to V_(D) over voltage above. V_(FB). For a 1.8V powersupply, γ=2.47. When L_(S)=0.3μ, W_(S)=0.3μ, T_(S)=431 Angstroms, new Runder accumulated surface condition is 11.1 KOhms. When V_(DS)=0.2V(drain to source bias), the channel current ION is 18 μA, a significantincrease over the flat-band gate voltage bias condition. For thisexample, the condition in EQ-17 is met as the film thickness 431A islarger than the accumulation depth 108A. Under flat-band condition, orwhen V_(D)<V_(FB), there is no surface accumulation and EQ-16 simplyreduces to T_(S)>0 A.

The following terms used herein are acronyms associated with certainmanufacturing processes. The acronyms and their abbreviations are asfollows:

-   -   V_(T) Threshold voltage    -   V_(TN) Gated-NFET Threshold voltage    -   V_(TP) Gated-PFET Threshold voltage    -   LDN Lightly doped Gated-NFET drain    -   LDP Lightly doped Gated-PFET drain    -   LDD Lightly doped drain    -   RTA Rapid thermal annealing    -   Ni Nickel    -   Ti Titanium    -   Co Cobalt    -   Si Silicon    -   TiN Titanium-Nitride    -   W Tungsten    -   S Source    -   D Drain    -   G Gate    -   ILD Inter layer dielectric    -   C1 Contact-1    -   M1 Metal-1    -   P1 Poly-1    -   P− Positive light dopant (Boron species, BF₂)    -   N− Negative light dopant (Phosphorous, Arsenic)    -   P+ Positive high dopant (Boron species, BF₂)    -   N+ Negative high dopant (Phosphorous, Arsenic)    -   Gox Gate oxide    -   C2 Contact-2    -   CVD Chemical vapor deposition    -   LPCVD Low pressure chemical vapor deposition    -   PECVD Plasma enhanced CVD    -   ONO Oxide-nitride-oxide    -   LTO Low temperature oxide

The device shown in FIG. 13, and discussed in the example earlier has P+doped poly-Silicon gate over N− doped channel for the Gated-NFET, and N+doped poly-Silicon gate over P− doped channel for the Gated-PFET. Thisis easily achieved in the fully salicided source/drain embodiment shownin FIG. 13. The Gated-NFET and Gated-PFET gate regions 1312 are firstdoped P+ and N+ respectively before the gates are etched. After gatesare etched, prior to spacer 1320 formation, Gated-NFETs are implantedwith N type LDN tip implant and Gated-PFETs are implanted with P typeLDP tip implant. The LDD tip-implant dose is much lower than the gatedoping to affect gate doping type. The Source & Drain regions are nowdefined by the self aligned LDD tip implants regions 1326 shown underthe spacer oxides 1320 adjacent to the gate 1312 regions in FIG. 13B. Asthe drain 1314 and source 1313 regions outside the spacer are fullyconsumed by salicide, those regions do not need heavy doping. Thechannel 1306 doping levels N− for Gated-NFET and P− for Gated-PFET arechosen to achieve the desirable VT as discussed earlier. The firstsemiconductor thin film layer 1306 forming the source 1313, LDD tips1326, channel 1306 and drain 1314 can be thinned down SOI single crystalSilicon material, or a first thin-film PolySilicon layer, or a lasercrystallized amorphous Silicon layer, or any other thin filmsemiconductor layer. A thicker first film allows higher current.

The gate dielectric 1305 is grown either thermally or deposited byPECVD. The first thin film layer 1306 (P1) forms the body of thetransistor. The P1 layer is deposited above the insulator layer 1307.The insulator is oxide, or nitride, or a reversed bias dopedsemiconductor region (in the case when source and drain regions are notfully salicided) that can isolate P1 geometry 1380. A P1 mask is used todefine and etch these P1 islands. Gated-PFET regions are mask selectedand implanted with P− doping, and gated N-FET devices are implanted withN− doping, the channel doping V_(T) levels required for Gated-FETdevices. The gate 1312 is deposited after the gate insulator 1305 isdeposited as a second thin film semiconductor layer (P2). In theembodiment shown, the second thin film layer is a PolySilicon layer. TheGated-PFET gate poly 1312 is mask selected and implanted N+ andGated-NFET is implanted with P+ prior to gate definition and etch. Thegate regions are then defined and etched. A P tip (LDP) implant is usedover all Gated-PFET devices, and an N tip (LDN) implant is used forGated-NFET devices. This can be done by open selecting Gated-PFETdevices, and not selecting Gated-NFET devices and visa-versa. The N+ andP+ doped gates are not affected by the lower N and P tip implant level.Gate 1312 blocks P and N tip implants getting into channel region 1340,and only P1 regions outside P2 gets this tip implant. Spacer oxideregions 1320 are formed on either side of gate by conventional oxidedeposition and etch back techniques. In FIG. 13A, the P2 gate 1312 isperpendicular to P1 geometry 1380. The n gate 1312 and spacers 1320sub-divide the P1 geometry into five regions: (1) source region 1313,(2) source spacer region 1326 doped with LDD tip implant, (3) channelregion 1306 doped with V_(T) implant, (4) drain spacer region 1326 alsodoped with LDD tip implant and (5) drain region 1314. The source anddrain regions are fully salicided and need no implant. After the spaceretch, exposed P and P1 regions are reacted with deposited Nickel (orCobalt) and salicided using Rapid Thermal Annealing. The LDD tip implantafter P2 etch forms self-aligned Source/Drain LDD tip regions andsalicidation after spacer etch forms self aligned Source/Drain salicideregions adjacent to spacer regions. After excess Ni etch, a dielectricfilm 1370 is deposited and C2 1375 is defined and etched. These areW-filled and polished. A M1 1380 is deposited, defined and etched, and adielectric 1390 deposited to add multiple layers of metal in theprocess.

For the device in FIG. 13 a high quality P1 film is beneficial. Theterms P1 refers to the first semiconductor layer in FIG. 13 and P2refers to the second semiconductor layer in FIG. 13 forming the gate. Anideal film is a single crystal Silicon with a precise thickness controlover an insulator. In SOI technology, the single crystal Silicon layerabove an insulator meets this criterion. Inside a Gated-FET array, P1 ismask selected and thinned down to the required thickness as defined byEQ-8. This allows formation of two sets of transistors adjacent to eachother: regular SOI MOSFET and thinned down SOI Gated-FET.

In one embodiment, a logic process is used to fabricate CMOS devices ona substrate layer. These CMOS devices may be used to build AND gates, ORgates, inverters, adders, multipliers, memory and other logic functionsin an integrated circuit. A Complementary Gated-FET TFT module layer isinserted to a logic process at a first contact mask to build a secondset of TFT Gated-FET devices. An exemplary logic process may include oneor more following steps:

-   -   P-type substrate starting wafer    -   Shallow Trench isolation: Trench Etch, Trench Fill and CMP    -   Sacrificial oxide    -   PMOS V_(T) mask & implant    -   NMOS V_(T) mask & implant    -   Pwell implant mask and implant through field    -   Nwell implant mask and implant through field    -   Dopant activation and anneal    -   Sacrificial oxide etch    -   Gate oxidation/Dual gate oxide option    -   Gate poly (GP) deposition    -   GP mask & etch    -   LDN mask & implant    -   LDP mask & implant    -   Spacer oxide deposition & spacer etch    -   N+ mask and NMOS N+ G, S, D implant    -   P+ mask and PMOS P+ G, S, D implant    -   Ni deposition    -   RTA anneal-Ni salicidation (S/DIG regions & interconnect)    -   Unreacted Ni etch    -   ILD oxide deposition & CMP

FIG. 14 shows an exemplary process for fabricating a thin film Gated-FETdevice in a module layer. In one embodiment the process in FIG. 14 formsa Gated-FET device in a layer substantially above the substrate layer.The processing sequence in FIG. 14.1 through 14.8 describes the physicalconstruction of a Gated-FET device shown in FIG. 13. The process shownin FIG. 14 includes adding one or more following steps to the logicprocess after ILD oxide CMP step.

-   -   C1 mask & etch    -   W-Silicide plug fill & CMP    -   ˜400A poly P1 (crystalline poly-1) deposition    -   P1 mask & etch    -   Blanket V_(TN) N− implant (Gated-NFET V_(T))    -   V_(TP) mask & P− implant (Gated-PFET V_(T))    -   TFT Gox (70 A PECVD) deposition    -   600 A P2 (crystalline poly-2) deposition    -   Blanket P+ implant (Gated-NFET gate & interconnect)    -   N+ mask & implant (Gated-PFET gate & interconnect)    -   P2 mask & etch    -   Blanket LDN Gated-NFET N tip implant    -   LDP mask and Gated-PFET P tip implant    -   Spacer LTO deposition    -   25 Spacer LTO etch to form spacers & expose P1    -   Ni deposition    -   RTA salicidation and poly re-crystallization (exposed P1 and P2)    -   Fully salicidation of exposed P1 S/D regions    -   Dopant activation anneal    -   Excess Ni etch    -   ILD oxide deposition & CMP    -   C2 mask & etch    -   W plug formation & CMP    -   M1 deposition and back end metallization

The TFT process technology consists of creating Gated-PFET andGated-NFET poly-Silicon transistors. In the embodiment in FIG. 14, themodule insertion is after the substrate device gate poly etch and theILD film deposition. In other embodiments the insertion point may beafter M1 and the subsequent ILD deposition, prior to V1 mask, or betweentwo other metal definition steps.

In the logic process, after gate poly of regular transistors arepatterned and etched, the poly is salicided using Cobalt or Nickel & RTAsequences. Then an ILD is deposited, and polished by CMP techniques to adesired thickness. In the shown embodiment, the contact mask is splitinto two levels. The first C1 mask contains all contacts that connectGated-FET outputs to substrate transistor gates or diffusion nodes. Thenthe C1 mask is used to open and etch contacts in the ILD film. Ti/TiNglue layer followed by W-Six plugs, W plugs or Si plugs may be used tofill the plugs, then CMP polished to leave the fill material only in thecontact holes. The choice of fill material is based on the thermalrequirements of the TFT module in subsequent steps. Si plugs allow RTAthermal oxidation of P1 at a subsequent step.

Then, a first P1 poly layer, amorphous or crystalline, is deposited byLPCVD to a desired thickness as shown in FIG. 14.1. The P1 thickness isbetween 50 A and 1000 A, and preferably between 200-600 A. This polylayer P1 is used for the channel, source, and drain regions for bothGated-FETs. P1 is patterned and etched to form the transistorgeometries. In other embodiments, P1 is used as contact pedestals tostack a C2 contact above C1. Gated-NFET transistors are blanketimplanted with N− doping, while the Gated-PFET transistor regions aremask selected and implanted with P− doping. This is shown in FIG. 14.2.The implant doses and P1 thickness are optimized to get the requiredthreshold voltages for Gated-PFET & Gated-NFET devices under fullydepleted transistor operation, and maximize on/off device current ratio.The pedestals implant type is irrelevant at this point. In anotherembodiment, the V_(T) implantation is done with a mask P− implantfollowed by masked N− implant. First doping can also be done in-situduring poly deposition or by blanket implant after poly is deposited.

Patterned and implanted P1 may be subjected to dopant activation andcrystallization. In one embodiment, RTA cycle is used to activate &crystallize the poly after it is patterned to near single crystal form.In a second embodiment, the gate dielectric is deposited, and buriedcontact mask is used to etch areas where P1 contacts P2 layer. Then, Niis deposited and salicided with RTA cycle. All of the P1 in contact withNi is salicided, while the rest poly is crystallized to near singlecrystal form. Then the unreacted Ni is etched away. In a thirdembodiment, amorphous poly is crystallized prior to P1 patterning withan oxide cap, metal seed mask, Ni deposition and MILC(Metal-Induced-Lateral-Crystallization).

Then the TFT gate dielectric layer is deposited followed by P2 layerdeposition. The dielectric is deposited by PECVD techniques to a desiredthickness in the 30-200 A range, desirably 30-100 A thick. The gate maybe grown thermally by using RTA when C1 plug fill is doped Silicon. Thisgate material could be an oxide, nitride, oxynitride, ONO structure, orany other dielectric material combination used as gate dielectric. Thedielectric thickness is determined by the voltage level of the process.At this point an optional buried contact mask BC may be used to openselected P1 contact regions, etch the dielectric and expose P1 layer. BCcould be used on P1 pedestals to form P1/P2 stacks over C1. In the P1salicided embodiment using Ni, the dielectric deposition and buriedcontact etch occur before the crystallization. In the preferredembodiment, no BC is used.

Then second poly P2 layer, 200 A to 1000 A thick, preferably 300-800 Ais deposited as amorphous or crystalline poly-Silicon by LPCVD as shownin FIG. 14.3. Then Gated-NFET devices & P+ poly interconnects areblanket implanted with P+ implant. The implant energy ensures fulldopant penetration into the P2 layer. This doping gets to only P2regions as no P1 regions are exposed. An N+ mask is used to selectGated-PFET devices and N+ interconnect, and implanted with N+ dopant asshown in FIG. 14.4. Transistor gate regions of Gated-PFET and Gated-NFETare doped to the correct dopant type. Source and drain regions areblocked by P1 and not implanted. This N+/P+ implants can be done with N+mask followed by P+ mask. The V_(T) implanted P1 regions are completelycovered by P2 layer and form channel regions of Gated-NFET & Gated-PFETtransistors.

P2 layer is defined into Gated-NFET & Gated-PFET gate regionsintersecting the P1 layer channel regions, C1 pedestals if needed, andlocal interconnect lines and then etched as shown in FIG. 14.5. The P2layer etching is continued until the dielectric oxide is exposed over P1areas uncovered by P2 (source, drain, P1 resistors). As shown in FIG.13A, the source & drain P1 regions orthogonal to P2 gate regions are nowself aligned to P2 gate edges. The S/D P2 regions may contact P1 viaburied contacts. Gated-NFET devices are blanket implanted with LDN Ndopant. Then Gated-PFET devices are mask selected and implanted with LDPP dopant as shown in FIG. 14.5. The implant energy ensures full dopantpenetration through the residual oxide into the S/D regions adjacent toP2 layers. The N and P type dopant level is much lower than the N+ andP+ dopant levels used to dope P2 regions. Hence P2 is unaffected bythese LDD implants.

A spacer oxide is deposited over the LDD implanted P2 using LTO orPECV_(D) techniques as shown in FIG. 14.6. The oxide is etched to formspacers 1320 shown in FIG. 13. The spacer etch leaves a residual oxideover P1 in a first embodiment, and completely removes oxide over exposedP1 in a second embodiment. The latter allows for P1 salicidation at asubsequent step. After the spacer etch Nickel is deposited over P2 andsalicided to form a low resistive refractory metal on exposed poly byRTA. Un-reacted Ni is etched as shown in FIG. 14.7. This 100 A-500 Athick Ni-salicide connects the opposite doped poly-2 and poly-1 regionstogether providing low resistive poly wires for data transfer. In oneembodiment, the residual gate dielectric left after the spacer preventsP1 layer salicidation. In a second embodiment, as the residual oxide isremoved over exposed P1 after spacer etch, P1 is salicided. Thethickness of Ni deposition may be used to control full or partialsalicidation of P1 regions in FIG. 13. Fully salicided S/D regions up tospacer edge facilitate high drive current due to lower source and drainresistances.

An LTO film is deposited over P2 layer, and polished flat with CMP. Asecond contact mask C2 is used to open contacts into the TFT P2 and P1regions in addition to all other contacts to substrate transistors. Inthe shown embodiment, C1 contacts connecting Gated-FET outputs tosubstrate transistors require no C2 contacts. Contact plugs are coveredwith a glue layer, filled with tungsten, CMP polished, and connected bymetal as done in standard contact metallization of IC's as shown in FIG.14.8.

In another embodiment, thinned down SOI is used to construct theGated-FET shown in FIG. 13. The SOI starting wafer is chosen to have thecorrect P1 thickness as given by EQ-8. This can be achieved by thinningdown an existing SOI wafer to Silicon thickness ˜400 A as discussed inthe example. The process sequence is similar to the Gated-FET TFT devicefabrication, except for the starting point. There is no preceding logicprocess, and the P1 definition is the starting point for the Gateddevice fabrication as detailed in the TFT process sequence. In anotherembodiment, an SOI logic process is used to fabricate CMOS devices on asubstrate layer, and a second thinned down Gated-FET device for specialapplications. Standard SOI devices may be used to build AND gates, ORgates, inverters, adders, multipliers, memory and other logic functionsin an integrated circuit Thinned down SOI Gated-FET devices may beconstructed to integrate a high density of latches or memory into thefirst fabrication module. A thinned down SOI module is inserted to anexemplary SOI logic process which includes one or more of followingsteps:

-   -   SOI substrate wafer    -   Shallow Trench isolation: Trench Etch, Trench Fill and CMP    -   Sacrificial oxide    -   Periphery PMOS V_(T) mask & implant    -   Periphery NMOS V_(T) mask & implant    -   Gated-FET mask and Silicon etch    -   Gated-FET blanket V_(T) N implant    -   Gated-FET V_(T) P mask and P implant    -   Dopant activation and anneal    -   Sacrificial oxide etch    -   Gate oxidation/Dual gate oxide option    -   Gate poly (GP) deposition    -   Gated-FET N+ mask and N+ implant    -   Gated-FET P+ mask and P+ implant    -   GP mask & etch    -   LDN mask & N− implant    -   LDP mask & P− implant    -   Spacer oxide deposition & spacer etch    -   Periphery N+ mask and N+ implant    -   Periphery P+ mask and P+ implant    -   Ni deposition    -   RTA anneal—Ni salicidation (S/D/G regions & interconnect)    -   Dopant activation    -   Unreacted Ni etch    -   ILD oxide deposition & CMP    -   C mask and etch

In this embodiment, the Gated-FET body doping is independently optimizedfor performance, but shares the same LDN, LDP implants. The Gated-FETgates are separately doped N+ & P+ prior to gate etch and blocked duringN+/P+ implants of peripheral SOI devices as the dopant types differ. Inother embodiments, Gated-FET devices and periphery MOSFET devices mayshare one or more V_(T) implants. One P2 is used for latch andperipheral device gates. In another embodiment, SOI substrate devicesmay be integrated with a TFT latch module. This allows for a SOIinverter and TFT inverter to be vertically integrated to build highdensity, fast access memory devices.

Processes described in the incorporated-by-reference ProvisionalApplication Ser. Nos. 60/393,763 and 60/397,070 support poly-filmTFT-SRAM cell and anti-fuse construction. This new usage differs fromthe process of FIG. 15 in doping levels and film thicknesses optimizedfor Gated-FET applications. The thin-film transistor construction andthe Thin-Film Anti-Fuse construction may exist side by side with thisThin-Film Gated-FET device if the design parameters overlap.

These processes can be used to fabricate a generic field programmablegate array (FPGA) with the inverters connecting to form latches and SRAMmemory. Such memory in a TFT module may be replaced with hard wiredconnections to form an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC).Multiple ASICs can be fabricated with different variations of conductivepatterns from the same FPGA. The memory circuit and the conductivepattern contain one or more substantially matching circuitcharacteristics. The process can be used to fabricate a high densitygeneric static random access memory (SRAM) with inverters connecting toform latches and SRAM memory. A TFT module may be used to build avertically integrated SRAM cell with one inverter on a substrate layer,and a second inverter in a TFT layer.

Although an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, andvarious modifications thereof, have been described in detail herein withreference to, the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that theinvention is not limited to this precise embodiment and the describedmodifications, and that various changes and further modifications may beeffected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from thescope or spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

1. A semiconductor thin film Gated-FET device, comprising: asemiconductor thin film layer positioned on a first insulator, saidfirst insulator adequately thick to minimize or eliminate any influenceof voltages from below; and a channel region formed in a fairlyuniformly doped portion of said semiconductor thin film layer, thethickness of the channel comprising the entire thin film thickness; anda gate terminal coupled to a single gate region formed above saidchannel region, said gate region formed on a gate material depositedover a gate insulator layer, said gate insulator layer further depositedover the semiconductor thin film layer; wherein: a first voltage levelat the gate fully depletes all of the majority carriers from the entirethin film layer in said channel region to create a non-conductivechannel; and a second voltage level at the gate accumulates the majoritycarriers near the gate surface of the thin film layer in said channelregion to create a conductive channel.
 2. The device in claim-1 furthercomprised of: a source region and a drain region formed in fairlyheavily doped portions of the semiconductor thin film layer, whereinsaid channel region is formed in between the source and drain regions;and a source terminal is coupled to said source region, a drain terminalis coupled to said drain region, and said source and drain regions havea higher level of the same dopant type as said channel region.
 3. Thedevice of claim-1, wherein the channel comprises one of a singlecrystal, polycrystalline Silicon, a re-crystallized Silicon, and anyother semiconductor material.
 4. The device of claim-1, wherein the gatecomprises one of a conductor, a refractory metal, a heavily dopedpoly-Silicon and a doped semiconductor material.
 5. The device ofclaim-1, wherein the first insulator comprises one of an oxide, anoxy-nitride, a nitride and a dielectric material.
 6. The device ofclaim-1, wherein the gate insulator comprises one of an oxide, anoxy-nitride, a nitride and a dielectric material.
 7. The device inclaim-2 further comprised of an off state with said gate terminal belowa threshold voltage level; wherein said thin film channel substantiallynot conducting a current between said drain and source regions for adifferential bias voltage ranging from zero to a system power supplyvoltage.
 8. The device in claim-2 further comprised of an on state withsaid gate terminal above a threshold voltage level; wherein said thinfilm channel conducting a current between said drain and source regionsfor a differential bias voltage ranging from zero to a system powersupply voltage.
 9. The device in claim-2 further comprised of an onstate with said gate terminal above a flat band voltage level; whereinsaid thin film channel substantially conducting a current between saiddrain and source regions for a differential bias voltage ranging fromzero to a system power supply voltage, and said conducting currentenhanced by an accumulation of majority carriers above said channeldoping level near the gate insulator surface.
 10. The device in claim-2further comprised of a Gated-NFET device comprising said source, channeland drain regions doped with an N type dopant; wherein said gatematerial having a positive flat band voltage, and said source regionconnected to a lower voltage compared to said drain region.
 11. Thedevice in claim-9 further comprises of: an off state defined by saidgate to said source voltage difference in a range from a system groundvoltage V_(S) to a first threshold voltage V_(TN); and an on statedefined by said gate to said source voltage difference in a range fromsaid first threshold voltage V_(TN) to a system power supply voltageV_(D).
 12. The device in claim-9 further comprising a P+ dopedpoly-Silicon gate material; wherein said source and drain regionsdefined by lightly doped N type tip regions adjacent to said channelregion self aligned to said gate edge, and said source and drain regionsoutside of said lightly doped tip regions fully salicided and selfaligned to said tip regions.
 13. The device in claim-2 further comprisedof a Gated-PFET device comprising said source, channel and drain regionsdoped with a P type dopant; wherein said gate material having a negativeflat band voltage, and said source region connected to a higher voltagecompared to said drain region.
 14. The device in claim-12 furthercomprises of: an off state defined by said gate to said source voltagedifference in a range from a system ground voltage V_(S) to a firstthreshold voltage V_(TP); and an on state defined by said gate to saidsource voltage difference in a range from said first threshold voltageV_(TP) to a system power supply voltage V_(D).
 15. The device inclaim-12 further comprising an N+ doped poly-Silicon gate material;wherein said source and drain regions defined by lightly doped P typetip regions adjacent to said channel region self aligned to said gateedge, and said source and drain regions outside of said lightly dopedtip regions fully salicided and self aligned to said tip regions.
 16. Athree terminal semiconductor thin film Gated-FET device, comprising: asemiconductor thin film layer positioned on an insulator, said insulatoradequately thick to minimize or eliminate any influence of electrodesfrom below the insulator, and a source terminal coupled to a sourceregion and a drain terminal coupled to a drain region, said source anddrain regions heavily doped with a first dopant type, a uniformly dopedchannel region positioned in between said source and drain regionscomprising a lower doping level of the first dopant type, said source,drain and channel regions formed in the thin film layer, said channelthickness comprising the entire thin film thickness; and a gate terminalcoupled to a gate region, said gate region formed above the channelregion on a gate material deposited over a gate insulator layerdeposited on the thin film layer, wherein: a first voltage level at thegate terminal fully depletes all of the majority carriers from theentire thin film layer in said channel region to create a non-conductivechannel; and a second voltage level at the gate terminal accumulatesmajority carriers near the gate surface of the thin film layer in saidchannel region to create a conductive channel.
 17. The device ofclaim-16, wherein said non-conductive channel resistance is in a rangeapproximately 10 KOhm to 1 TOhm, and preferably in the range 100 KOhm to1 TOhm, and more preferably in the range 1 MOhm to 1 TOhms.
 18. Thedevice of claim 16, wherein the ratio of said device conductive channelcurrent to said device non-conductive channel current is in a rangeapproximately 100 to 10,000,000,000, and preferably in a range 1000 to10,000,000,000, and more preferably in a range 10,000 to 10,000,000,000.19. The device as in claim 16, wherein the semiconductor thin film layerthickness is in the range 30 to 600 Angstroms, and preferably in therange 100 to 400 Angstroms and more preferably in the range 200 to 350Angstroms.
 20. A semiconductor thin film Gated-FET device, comprising: alightly doped resistive channel region formed on a semiconductor thinfilm layer, the thickness of the channel comprising the entire thin filmthickness; and an insulator layer deposited on said channel surface witha gate region formed on a gate material deposited on said insulatorlayer, said gate region receiving a gate voltage comprised of: a firstlevel that modulate said channel resistance to a substantiallynoninductive state by fully depleting majority carriers from said thinfilm layer in the channel region; and a second level that modulate saidchannel resistance to a substantially conductive state by at leastpartially accumulating majority carriers near the gate surface of thethin film layer in said channel region.